Leaders of China and Tajikistan Join Hands to Create a Better Tomorrow

  Tajikistan President Rahmon led senior officials to the airport to warmly welcome him.   Tajik scholars, in an interview with Global Times reporters, stated that President Xi's visit is a milestone event, and Tajikistan China relations have entered a new stage, opening up new prospects for extensive cooperation between the two countries.  

Good neighbor, good friend, good partner, good brother

  More than 1500 Tajik youths dressed in ethnic costumes performed a rich and distinctive Chinese Tajik song and dance, waving the national flags of China and Tajikistan.

  He said that I visited Tajikistan twice in 2014 and 2019. After 5 years, I have once again set foot on this beautiful land, feeling very familiar.   He stated that China and Tajikistan have strong political mutual trust and have always firmly supported each other on issues related to each other's core interests. The cooperation between the two countries in jointly building the "the Belt and Road" has yielded fruitful results.

  In recent years, under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, the relationship between China and Tajikistan has continuously improved and upgraded. In 2017, the relationship between China and Tajikistan was upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership; In 2019, China and Tajikistan took the lead in announcing the joint creation of a development community and a security community;  

     

The Global Times reporter also felt the warmth and friendship of the ordinary people of Tajikistan here. In order to welcome Chinese dignitaries, the streets of Dushanbe have long been adorned with bright national flags of both countries. On Rudaki Street, named after a famous Tajik poet, electronic screens on the roadside read "Tajikistan and China are the revivers of the Great Silk Road.". Next to the Tajik parliament building, a large banner reads "Friendship between Tajikistan and China, Eternal Youth". "Let's take a photo together!" Enthusiastic and friendly Tajiks, seeing the Chinese journalist being interviewed, approached us and "shared the same frame", leaving behind the same beautiful smiling face in the beautiful days. All of these have made the reporter feel the mutual understanding between the people of China and Tajikistan as good neighbors and friends.

Building a community with a shared future between China and Tajikistan

    In the new situation, China is willing to develop a comprehensive strategic partnership with Tajikistan in the new era and build a community with a shared future between China and Tajikistan from a higher starting point.

  This is the first time China has awarded the "Friendship Medal" overseas, which is a special arrangement made to express the friendly feelings of the Chinese people towards President Rahmon and the people of Tajikistan.

    China is striving to promote high-quality development and high-level opening up, and comprehensively promote the great cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation with Chinese path to modernization. Tajikistan is also making great strides on the road to achieving its national development strategy before 2030. He said that I look forward to meeting with President Rahmon to jointly open up a better new prospect for China Tajikistan relations.

"President Xi's visit to Tajikistan is a milestone event that reflects the highest level of bilateral relations." Tajik foreign relations scholar Mettinova said in an interview with Global Times reporters that although there are cultural differences between Tajikistan and China, the two sides support each other in core interests and work together in the economic and trade fields for mutual benefit and win-win. She said that Tajikistan was one of the first countries to join the "the Belt and Road" initiative proposed by China, and also one of the first countries to link the "National Development Strategy before 2030" with China's "the Belt and Road". Strengthening cooperation between Tajikistan and China is of great significance for improving the level of economic construction, developing transportation, energy, and communication networks in Tajikistan. In addition, the two countries will strengthen cooperation to combat the three forces of terrorism, extremism, and separatism, and jointly address threats such as transnational organized crime and drug smuggling. These areas of cooperation have become a priority direction for Tajikistan China relations.

Thanks to the cooperation with China to jointly build the "the Belt and Road", Tajikistan's infrastructure has improved rapidly in recent years. China has participated in the implementation of a series of major infrastructure construction projects in Tajikistan, such as the China Tajikistan Uzbekistan Highway, the China Tajikistan Highway, Dushanbe Thermal Power Plant, etc., which has made positive contributions to promoting the development of Tajikistan's economy and people's livelihood. In 2023, Tajikistan's GDP growth rate reached 8.3%, far exceeding the economic expectations of the World Bank.

Cui Heng, Assistant Researcher at the Russian Research Center of East China Normal University, stated in an interview with Global Times that the core foundation of China Tajikistan relations is a strong political mutual trust between the two sides. They always firmly support each other on issues related to each other's core interests, while respecting the development path chosen by the other country based on their own national conditions, which is to support the other party in taking the path that suits them. It is precisely the recognition of these core values that has enabled the two countries to embark on a successful path of harmonious development between neighboring countries.

Building a Common Home of Unity and Mutual Trust

 

  China has been strengthening cooperation with Central Asian countries. China is one of the main investment countries in Kazakhstan. In Tajikistan, large-scale projects such as the Dushanbe Thermal Power Plant, which China has assisted in building, have provided impetus for the economic development and improvement of people's livelihoods. The signing ceremony of the trilateral government agreement on the China Kyrgyzstan Ukraine railway project was held in Beijing recently, and its completion will drive faster economic and social development in Central Asia.

 

"China's influence in Central Asia is increasing day by day." The Wall Street Journal of the United States reported that Chinese cars such as BYD and Geely are speeding on the streets of various Central Asian countries, and the new generation of Central Asian elites are preparing to go to China. According to reports, 19-year-old business student Makhmudov graduated from an elite high school in Uzbekistan, and he and several classmates in his class have studied in China. Currently, he works part-time at a local language education institution and his dream is to own a BYD car. At the educational institution where he works, 8 young students are working hard to learn Chinese in the junior class. Mahmudov stated that many political and business professionals in the country come here to learn Chinese because they believe that "China is the future.".